Unarmed man shot by Newport News police tells his story

NEWPORT NEWS — When the shooting stopped, Corey Moody says police pulled him out of his bullet-ridden car.

He could feel nothing from the waist down. His spinal cord had been struck by police officers' gunfire — gunfire intended for someone who was armed.

"They dragged me out the car and put the gun to my head," Moody said in an interview at his home last week. "They said the best thing for you now is to tell us where the gun at."

There was no gun to show police on Dec. 12, 2012, because Moody was unarmed.

Police say they fired at Moody to protect a fellow officer and because they thought Moody was reaching for a gun in the console of his car.

Hours after the shooting, a doctor told Moody that he wouldn't be able to walk again.

Moody, 41, lives in Hampton with his mother, who has taken care of him since the shooting. The two were hopeful that the city would find fault with police for the shooting, but they recently learned that a July report from the prosecutors' office exonerated the officers from any criminal wrongdoing.

The police and city attorney were notified in June that a lawsuit was going to be filed against them. A federal lawsuit will follow later this year alleging a violation of Moody's civil rights, said Timothy Clancy, Moody's attorney.

Clancy says that several explanations of what led to the shooting have come from police — all of which he and Moody deny.

"One story was that Mr. Moody and police exchanged gunfire … then another story was that Mr. Moody was reaching into a console and ignoring police officers — we vehemently deny that," Clancy said. "The last story is the allegation that Mr. Moody was dragging a police officer and that somehow justified shooting Mr. Moody and causing him to be paralyzed."

Newport News police spokesman Lou Thurston said department officials declined to comment on the case due to the pending lawsuit. Two phone calls to the prosecutor's office seeking comment were not returned.

State charges go federal

Newport News police detective Danielle Hollandsworth was one of the officers who fired at Moody the night of the shooting, according to a seven-page prosecutor's report. This wasn't their first encounter. The two had crossed paths in March 2012 at 44th Street and Baughman Court. Hollandsworth had approached Moody while he was in a parked car, and she used his driver's license to check for outstanding warrants, according to a federal affidavit.

Hollandsworth saw no active warrants for Moody. She then asked Moody if he had any weapons on him. Moody answered "no," but told her that she could search him.

In Moody's front pants pocket, Hollandsworth found a clear plastic bag "that contained a napkin that emitted a strong chemical odor" associated with the odor of cocaine, according to the affidavit. A spoon with suspected cocaine residue and about $2,321 separated in three bundles was also found. Later that day, police searched Moody's home in Hampton and confiscated several items, including a 9mm handgun, according to the affidavit. Police also confiscated 170 grams of cocaine. Moody was charged with distribution of cocaine and a firearms offense.

Court records show that charges against Moody were elevated to federal offenses in late October. When a defendants' case is transferred from state court to federal court, the federal warrant is often served on the defendant during his or her state court appearance. Clancy says neither he nor his client was ever notified before the shooting that the charges against Moody had gone federal.

The federal charges made Moody a sought man.

Wanted man

The night of the shooting, Newport News police detectives Hollandsworth and Russel Tinsley were in an unmarked car monitoring city streets after a recent homicide, according to the prosecutors' office report. While on patrol, an agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration contacted Hollandsworth to tell her that Moody was wanted on a federal warrant. The agent gave Hollandsworth a description of a blue BMW they believed Moody was driving.

Police located a car that matched the description, just before 7 p.m. on the 35th Street overpass to Interstate 664. Once spotting the car, officers ran a check of the license plate and saw that it was registered to Moody's mother. They waited for the driver to make a traffic violation before stopping the car, according to the report, which says the driver made an improper lane change. Hollandsworth recognized Moody when she approached the car.

Officers Randy Gibson and Ryan Norris were on the scene as backup.

The details of what happened next differ between Moody and police.

Officers say that Moody initially complied with an order for him to place his hands on the steering wheel, but then removed his hands and reached for the center console of his car. Moody denies that he reached for the console.